


Saturday, 12PM — Don't Be Late!

by Symantra



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Candy Flamingo, Comedy, Date planning, Dating, F/F, First date Jitters, Fluff, Gen, Mutually Nervous Wrecks, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symantra/pseuds/Symantra
Summary: Tomoe Udagawa and Rimi Ushigome end up dating after a chance encounter at a ramen restaurant, in which Rimi finished an entire bowl of ramen in two minutes—garlic, shio, and all—and Tomoe fell in love with her right then and there. This story isn't about that, however. Now that they're settling into a comfy relationship, they have a different problem on their hands: the first date, and all the jitters that come with it.Tomoe gets the help of Afterglow to prepare for her date, while Rimi enlists the help of Poppin'Party. Their goal: Saturday, 12PM—don't be late!
Relationships: Background Minato Yukina/Mitake Ran, Udagawa Tomoe/Ushigome Rimi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28
Collections: Free Story Sundays





	Saturday, 12PM — Don't Be Late!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Resident_NEET](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resident_NEET/gifts).



“You really don’t need to do this for me, you guys.”

Himari ignored her for the third time and continued scrolling through her phone. Tsugumi didn’t even look at her, watching Himari’s phone screen over her shoulder with wolf-like intent.

“Please shut up, Tomoe-chan.”

Tomoe snapped her mouth shut. When Tsugumi told someone to shut up, it was over. That meant serious business.

“But this can’t be that serious,” Tomoe muttered, rubbing her neck, which had been warm ever since her friends had decided to “help” her with her date plans.

“Rimi’s more active on Instagram than anything else,” Himari reported. “She posts a lot of food—wow, it all looks so good—but she’s rarely in the picture herself. If she is, it’s always with a friend, or a group photo.”

“Mm, I get it.” Tsugumi nodded. Tomoe wanted to say she understood too, but the way Tsugumi and Himari spoke made it sound as if they had pulled kind of deeper understanding from that simple fact.

“So what is that supposed to mean?” she asked, her pride swallowed long ago. “Do I take a picture of her food with her?”

Himari finally looked up, eyes appalled and eyebrows screwed together. “It means so many things, Tomoe! One: Let her take a picture of your food before you start eating and mess it all up. Two: If she wants to take a picture with you, it means she wants to post on her social media, so look sharp. Three: If she wants to take a picture _of_ you, she probably isn’t going to post it anywhere, and instead she wants it for—”

“Himari-chan!” Tsugumi interrupted her. Himari stopped.

“What? I was gonna say her phone wallpaper.”

Tomoe mouthed the words Himari had just said, repeating the explanation in her head. It all sounded so complicated. So basically, Rimi wanting to take a picture was good. Picture good. Simple enough.

“Huh. Thanks you two.” She thanked them but sighed afterward. “I never would’ve thought to do all this uh, research, before a date. This is research, right? We’re not just stalking her?”

“We’re learning about what she likes so you can be a better date. It’s not stalking, because you aren’t trying to do anything sus... You aren’t, right?”

“Heck no. I just want to be a good time, man.”

Her two friends continued paging through Rimi’s social media as Tomoe waited obediently next to them. She hadn’t asked for this intense level of support—but in a way, she had, by telling her band in the first place. Of all the people she could have told about her first date with Rimi, she chose the four people who put whoopie cushions all over her drumset on April Fool’s and gave her four differently sized drumsticks for her birthday.

At least they were supportive. That made her feel pretty appreciated, much more than when she looked at the four drumsticks sitting in her closet, literally useless unless she wanted to develop a weird crook in her left arm. Okay, fine, maybe she was still salty about the drumsticks.

“Ooh!” A joyful exclamation from Himari brought Tomoe out of her reminiscing. “I’ve seen this picture before. This is the picture of the all-you-can-eat cake place from their website that just opened up a few blocks down from Moriya Noodle. The place we usually go for ramen!”

“Mhm. What does this mean?” Tomoe asked, feeling again like a clueless dunce.

“It means,” Himari started, sucking in a breath. “You need to take her there.” And she sighed. “You clueless dunce.” There it was.

“Ahaha...”

“This post was just her saying she wanted to go. She hasn’t actually been yet, unless she did and just didn’t post about it. But the Rimi I know would never miss a chance to take pictures. Did you know she looks at photos of the food she’s eaten to tide herself over until she can go again?”

Tsugumi shook her head and frowned. “How does that work? Wouldn’t she be even more hungry?”

“I know that’s how it works for me,” Tomoe added. The three of them looked at each other and shrugged.

“Whatever. Anyway, it’s the perfect place. Not only will you impress her, but you’ll learn more about what she likes.” A dreamy expression came across Himari’s face. “How romantic... Aw man, why couldn’t it be me? Where is my cute dessert-loving gamer girlfriend?”

“There’s always Sayo-san,” Tomoe reminded her. Tsugumi giggled, though Himari shuddered.

“None of us can approach her with confidence except for Tsugu. I’d have better luck with Rinko-san, but it’d be rude of me to steal her away from Ako.”

“Damn right! Ako hasn’t said anything yet, but I’m 99% sure they aren’t just gaming friends anymore. She gets embarrassed about it every time I ask. Sorry Himari.” She appended an apologetic look to her words.

“It’s okay, Tomoe. It’s okay.”

Having been on her phone for the past minute, Tsugumi spoke up. “Tomoe-chan, my parents know the owner of that shop. They’re a family friend, and we also helped them move in and get settled, so in return they gave us these.” She held the screen up to show an image of a cute pink leaflet with a QR code in the corner. “It’s a voucher that we can share with our friends! To help them advertise their shop, of course. I’ll airdrop it. Download it and show them at the door, and you’ll get a discount. One time use!”

“Aw, sweet. Thanks a ton, Tsugu. And you too, Himari.” Tomoe got out her phone and saved the name of the place as well as the voucher, which she received without a problem. “You two are lifesavers, really.”

With a little bit of praise, Himari perked right back up. “Don’t thank us yet!” She got up and put her hands on Tomoe’s back, shoving her toward the door. “You’ve still got to meet up with Ran, okay? Go on, go on, don’t be late!”

“Alright, alright, geez, no need to push me! See you later Tsugu!”

* * *

In Poppin’Party’s basement headquarters, Rimi and Arisa were doing some reconnaissance of their own. Arisa dragged two fingers along her mousepad as Rimi practically stuck to her side.

“She’s not active at all on Instagram,” Arisa grumbled. “That’s another off the list.”

All they could find on Tomoe was nothing of worth. Barely any tweets, all of them trivial and made with days between; one Facebook status from 2009 that hardly had any bearing on the Tomoe of today; a picture of her when she won an award for something in primary school.

Rimi would argue that the last had value, but Arisa couldn’t care less about Little Miss Class 2-A’s Most Valued Community Member or whatever.

“What about checking Himari-chan’s Twitter? Can you see if there’s anything about Tomoe there?” Rimi asked. Arisa sighed but complied nonetheless.

“Sure, sure.”

Saya, who sat on the couch across the room, smiled at the two of them. “You sound pretty worked up over this date of yours, Rimi-rin.”

Rimi stopped leaning on Arisa’s arm to sit up straight. “N-nahh, it’s nothin’,” she claimed, but slipping into her Kansai dialect gave her away.

Arisa scoffed. “She’s definitely lying! You’re a terrible liar, Rimi!”

Rimi hid her cheeks with her hands. “Okay, maybe I am a little worked up. What if our date doesn’t go anywhere, and Tomoe-chan realizes I’m uninteresting?”

“First of all, you aren’t uninteresting.” Arisa waved her hand, dismissing all Rimi’s worries with one nonchalant gesture and a bored look. “Second of all, you’d deserve better if she turns out to be that shallow. Third of all, you’ve enlisted the help of not one, not two, but _four people_.” Arisa stressed her words by touching the tip of her finger to her mousepad.

Rimi let out a sheepish laugh. “Thank you again. I appreciate it a lot!”

“There we go. Anyway, look at this.” Arisa turned her laptop to show Rimi and Saya the screen. “Himari’s twitter food. Er, feed. Her feed’s got lots of food, is what I mean.”

Sure enough, one of Himari’s latest posts was of a still-steaming bowl of ramen. Rimi drooled; Himari’s food pictures were always a treat. “What about it?”

Arisa scrolled down to another bowl of ramen. Then another. And another. Another...

No words were needed to clarify Arisa’s point.

“Oh,” was all Rimi said. “Half those posts mention that Tomoe-chan recommended the place.”

“Yup. I knew she liked ramen but, uh.” Arisa paused. “She’s an addict. It’s scary.”

“Come on now, Arisa, be nice.” Saya reprimanded her with a gentle look. “That aside, Tomoe really doesn’t get tired of ramen. Ever. So she’d probably be in a good mood if you suggested it, so keep that in mind, okay?”

“Mhm! Do you know a good ramen place, Saya? Could you tell me?”

“Hm, let’s see. I went to Itada Ramen with her once, but that one’s pretty far away. You could try Moriya Noodle, down by the cake shop that just opened up.” Saya listed out a few more restaurants, and Rimi nodded along, doing her best to remember the names for later.

Once Saya was done, Arisa closed her laptop. “Guess that’s it,” she concluded. “Alright, now get out of here. Kasumi still wants to go shopping with you. Don’t keep her waiting.” Arisa tugged her toward the stairs. Before Rimi went up, Arisa paused and contemplated something. “Have fun on your date tomorrow. And don’t stress out about it too much. You’ll be fine. And good luck.”

She said each line grudgingly, as if to make them seem like afterthoughts. Her act held little water, as Rimi and Saya saw through it easily, both doing a poor job of hiding their amusement.

“Thanks Arisa-chan! And thanks Saya-chan!”

Rimi tried to give Arisa a hug and, as a result, was promptly ushered from the room before she could even attempt to give Saya one. Saya just laughed as Arisa waved her off then came back down the stairs shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

“Rimi is so energetic these days, huh?” Arisa exhaled and plopped onto the couch with Saya. “Geez. That girl. I’m afraid Kasumi is going to turn her into the third Kasumi in our group.”

“Heh. That would be a handful, wouldn’t it?” Saya tilted her head, playfulness dancing across her lips. “But what’s to say she would be the third and not the fourth?”

“Saya. You better not betray me—”

“A-ri-saaaa~”

“Aaaaughhh! Get off me! Help, ack—Rimi! Come back! Don’t get Kasumified! Pleaaaase!”

* * *

“How come I got saddled with fashion?”

Ran griped, as she and Tomoe rode the escalator up to the second floor of the mall. Tomoe gave her a hearty laugh.

“Heck if I know, Ran. But thanks for going along with Himari’s plan anyway.”

“No problem. I wanted to buy some clothes too, so it works out.” They reached the top of the escalator and got off, Ran already heading toward one of the stores. “Let’s start here.”

“Ran...” Tomoe slowed down as it became clear which store Ran planned to take her to. Ran turned around, one foot inside and a question in her eyes that could quickly turn to irritation. “This is a Hot Topic.”

“Yeah, so? Something wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Just, uh, it’s very like you.”

“Do I not look like someone who buys her clothes at Hot Topic?” Ran asked. Tomoe’s jaw went slack; had Ran read her thoughts? “Yeah, I know what everyone says about me. I also don’t care. You coming or not?”

They went in.

“So, do you know what kinda stuff Rimi likes?” Tomoe asked as they circled the round display of clothes central to the entrance. Edgy rock music blasted over the radio, muffling the sound of a few other teens laughing in the corner. If one of Afterglow’s songs started playing, she honestly wouldn’t have been surprised at all. “I recall Himari telling me how you two and Lisa-san hang out with her and Arisa sometimes.”

“Not too much.” Ran pursed her lips, picking at a black t-shirt with a design etched into it in neon pink. She let it fall back into the clothing rack. “She seems she’d be into cute stuff though. Soft colors and stuff like that.”

“I wonder if I could even do cute.” Tomoe chuckled, looking down at herself. Maybe if she made herself shorter, dropped the studs, and stopped wearing a choker. Even those would be first steps. “Can you imagine me in a skirt?”

“Why would I do that? I’m not gay.”

“Ran, you kiss Yukina like eight times a week. You’re as gay as the rest of us, dumbass.”

Ran’s face went full crimson paint job. “Okay, shut the fuck up, Tomoe. That’s different. I’m trying to see if _she’s_ got a thing for _me_.”

“Yeah, sure, by feeling her up when my little sister isn’t looking?” Ran’s expression gave away that Tomoe had hit the nail on the head. “You’re as straight as a boomerang, dude.”

“Fuck you.”

“In your dreams. I’m taken.”

“Grrrr—anyway, back to your _date_ ,” Ran spat, grabbing something at random. Her anger dissipated, a sign that she was in a good mood. “If you can’t do cute, this one’s kinda got a pretty cool vibe to it. Maybe wear white sleeves under it, and you’ve got a look? Cool-casual, or something?”

“Hm...” Tomoe squinted at it. A whole lot of fire, a laughing demonic face poking through the flames, the word RAGE in all caps emblazoned below it all. “It feels a bit, uh, aggressive.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Ran put it back. “So you want something that’s like, chill?”

“Yeah. Yeah, something like this.” Tomoe picked out a shirt with a graffitied, heart-themed, but still kinda rock-band-like vibe to it. She held it out in front of her, and it stopped above her stomach. “Oh geez. This one’s revealing though.”

“I mean, you could just go in on the lady-killer look.” Ran shot her a side eye. “Haven’t you two already confessed to each other? What’s wrong with being a little revealing?”

“Yeah, but Rimi’s like...” Tomoe protested, struggling to find the right word. “She’s pure! She isn’t gonna wear anything remotely like that, and I don’t want her to feel out of place with me or something.”

“That’s true.” Ran ran her hand through the shirts lined up against the wall. They hadn’t even checked out the sides of the store yet, so they walked around and browsed in silence for a bit, sharing their discoveries every now and then.

“You want something blue?”

“Absolutely not. Pink, green, sure. But no blue.”

“Okay. Wait. I’ve found it. This one.”

“What? But that’s a flamingo, isn’t it? Birds aren’t cool, dude.”

“Yeah, but it’s a candy flamingo. A candy flamingo. C’mon.”

“What’s your point? It’s candy stupid.”

“Dude, look, it’s made out of cream puffs and lollipops and shit. Rimi would love it.”

“Pfft—no way! Absolutely no way. I’m not wearing that.”

“I’m not kidding. Deadass, I’ll even buy this shirt for you. You wear this, she’ll love you forever. If she doesn’t, I’ll wear it myself.”

“Holy hell, you—you’re—god, I can’t even stop laughing, gffahaha!”

“You jerk, I’m trying to help you out here!”

* * *

Eagerly was the most fitting description for the way Kasumi took to dragging Rimi off the train. Without forgetting to tell Rimi about her morning, how Asuka found a stick bug in her room, and where she wanted to go for lunch, she dragged Rimi through the streets of Shibuya to places she had no idea existed.

“Look, these gloves are shaped like cute froggies!” She thrust her hand at Rimi’s face, fingers poking through the finger holes of the glove. Two cartoon frog eyes and a wide smile decorated the back of her hands.

“Wow...”

Rimi wanted to mirror Kasumi’s enthusiasm, but taking in her surroundings was taking all her processing power. Colorful rows of gaudy clothes, wooden bins in the middle of the room filled with miscellanies and accessories: things that would make decent souvenirs for people who had no idea what people usually gave for souvenirs.

“Does Tomoe-chan like this kinda stuff? Maybe you should get her something as a present.” Kasumi flapped her fingers at her.

“I don’t think she is. I’m not really sure what kinda things she likes yet.”

“You should ask her!” Kasumi took the gloves off and tossed them back into the bin, bouncing over the store exit. “Christmas is coming soon, and you should give her something she’ll like!”

“Christmas is three months away, Kasumi-chan...”

They left the shop, and Kasumi led the way down streets, so full of kinetic energy that Rimi felt faster just following in her wake.

“This is one of my favorite stores!” Kasumi spun around in front of a store whose name was written in English in a subdued neon orange: Kinji, used clothing? Looked like Rimi was discovering a bunch of new hole-in-the-wall stores today.

Rimi caught up to her. “You sound like you go here a lot?”

Kasumi nodded, fervent. “I like looking at the bargain bin for clothes that are on sale! It’s important to get kira kira doki discounts, you know what I mean?”

So Kasumi was a thrift shopper. It all made so much sense.

“Hello Mr. Zazawata!” Kasumi greeted a man typing away at a laptop behind the register. He looked up, tipped his chin and smiled, then returned to his work. “He’s the owner here.”

“Uh huh,” Rimi sounded off, but her attention was already grabbed by the store itself. It was narrow, some sections walled off in a maze-like way. Shirts hung on the wall, clothes racks filled cubbies, and flamboyant hanging mobiles suspended arrays of baubles in the air. Stickers adorned half of the available wall space, and a myriad of other junk took the rest. A low-frequency song was playing over the speakers, one that sounded like it was from Japan’s 80s era.

“Look around, see if you find anything cool!” Kasumi was half turned away already. “There’s like, vintage stuff over that way, but everything is kinda vintage really. I’ll go look for some things that may look good on you!”

“Okay,” Rimi barely had a chance to respond before Kasumi disappeared. “Huh...”

She started where she stood and meandered between displays. Where did she even start? Rimi had always gone for the comfiest clothes, but everything here was so, how to put it—striking.

A few minutes later, Kasumi returned and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Anything?”

Rimi shook her head. She hadn’t found anything she really liked, let alone thought Tomoe would like.

“Ooh. Well that’s okay, I found some outfits for you!” Kasumi started shoving things into her hands. “This one is a really nice shade of blue. It looks super cool, but I dunno if Tomoe likes blue or not? There’s also this jacket I found, and this hat!”

Kasumi pulled an orange cap over Rimi’s hair and helped her slip the jacket on, then guided her to a standing mirror. “What do you think?”

Rimi squinted. Greeting her in the mirror was a person much bolder than she was. Dull camo sleeves drooped from her wrists, cool and mostly frictionless on the inside. Brass buttons and a metal zipper went right down her middle, and she had more pockets than ever.

“I dunno,” she mumbled, turning her shoulders and frowning at herself in the mirror. “I’ve never worn something like this before. Does it suit me?”

“Hmm.” Kasumi stared at her for a moment, stopping right before Rimi could get self-conscious. “Maybe you need a new t-shirt underneath! Try, uh, this one? I thought it was super cool!”

Kasumi shook out some of the fabric in her arms and gave it to Rimi, who unfurled it and held it up to her torso. It was light green, accented with darker colors and some streak of white. It looked nice, but there was just one thing.

“I think this shirt is, like, too small for me?”

“No it’s not, that’s the point! You tie it on the side like this.” Kasumi plucked at the lower of the shirt’s uneven sides, the only one that reached her waist. “Then you have like, a cool asumetric look! Asu... acemetical?”

“Asymmetrical?”

“Yeah!”

Rimi’s face started getting warm already. “There’s no way I could walk around wearing this,” she stammered, giving Kasumi the shirt back.

“Really? We’ve had stage outfits that are a lot more revealing.” Kasumi tilted her head. “And you know, Tomoe-chan has too. She may even be impressed!”

After a second, Rimi realized Kasumi was right. They did show a lot of skin for some of their live costumes. Thinking about that, and thinking about Tomoe, and looking at the shirt in the mirror again made her start to reconsider.

After a few moments, she swallowed. “Okay. I’ll try it. Maybe I should get a pair of pants too, then.”

“Ooh! I saw some great ones in the back. They were super shiny! Want me to show you?”

“Sh-shiny pants? That can’t look good, can it?”

“Only one way to find out!”

* * *

Saturday, five minutes before noon, Tomoe leaned up against a brick wall in an alleyway by the back entrance of a convenience store. She rolled up her white sleeves, then decided against it and yanked them back down.

Her sleeves weren’t the problem. It was this stupid shirt that had, what else, a flamingo made out of candy on it.

“Why did I listen to Ran?” She plucked at the lollipop swirl on the flamingo’s butt. “Rimi’s gonna laugh at me, Moca. This shirt is so stupid. No way, no way, no way.”

“What do you mean? It’s rad as hell.” Moca raised her eyebrows. “It’s made out of candy, dude. Look at its jelly bean eyes. You should get one for Ako-chin too.”

“Okay, maybe Ako would like it. But this is Rimi we’re talking about. If she laughs at me, I think I might literally die of shame.”

“Hate to burst your bubble, but you’re using ‘literally’ wrong. You won’t die, you’ll just hide in your room for a few days like when Tsugu-chin rejected you in middle school.” Moca patted her on the shoulder, smile warmer than the memory she was making Tomoe remember. “Just remember how I trained you. Channel your inner Tomoriffic. Sound familiar?”

“Tomoriffic. Yeah, sure. I got it.” Tomoe still didn’t feel sure. She peeked around the corner, no one familiar in sight. She wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not.

“You don’t get it. Look me in the eyes, private.” Moca gripped both her shoulders. “You’re trying to be gallant! Cool! Debonair! But what you don’t see is, you’re already all of those things to her. You’re already her hero, dude.”

“I am?”

Moca nodded. Tomoe could tell she was serious—her usual shit-eating grin was nowhere to be seen. “She looks up to you, Tomo-chin. And she likes you. There’s no need to put on airs.”

Tomoe gulped and nodded. She took a deep breath, feeling the air pass her lips cool and exit warm.

“You’re right,” she said. Confidence returned to her expression. “Just be me, and I’m already cool.”

“That’s the spirit. Now finally, before you get out there, show me your best seductive look. Make Moca-chan’s legs tremble.”

Tomoe tried. She squinched her eyes, pushed the corners of her lips out and up, and turned her head a few degrees to the side. Moca studied her face for a second.

“Meh.”

“Oh c’mon! Lemme try again.”

“Sorry, no more time to flirt with Moca-chan. Your lady is waiting. Get a move on, soldier!” Moca placed her hands on her shoulder blades and gave her a firm push into the open.

Meanwhile, in another alley, a girl in a camo jacket and a short military-green shirt tied at the side clutched the brick corner and poked her head out. Her hat’s dull orange brim covered her eyes as she scanned the sidewalk, found nothing, and pulled her head back.

“I shouldn’t have worn this,” she murmured, wondering how she had ever gazed at herself in the mirror and thought, _Rimi, you cool devil_. “It’s so unlike me. What if she’s weirded out?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Tae, who was here to provide one last push of moral support, shrugged. “It’s not like she’ll dump you just because you look kinda silly.”

“I look silly?!” Rimi stopped breathing for a split second. She pleaded to Tae with her eyes—for what, she didn’t know exactly, but something to help her stop shaking.

“Ah, uh. Oops.” Tae had a penitent look, but she cleared it away and cleared her throat. “However you dress up, you’re still Rimi-rin, right?”

“Yeah... I think.”

“You are.” Tae smiled at her. “It’s kinda like, what is it... If I wear a funny hat while I feed my rabbits, they still recognize me, right? Because they can smell me and all. My smell hasn’t changed. Not that your girlfriend is going to smell you, but uh. You know what I mean.”

Rimi failed to stifle a chuckle. “Ahaha! You always come up with funny examples, don’t you? Thanks, O-Tae.”

“Funny?” Tae was confused for a second, but it didn’t stop her from smiling. “But see? There you go. Don’t be afraid to laugh just like that. Does that make sense?”

“Yup. I got it!”

“Alright. Make us proud, Rimi-rin.”

With a drawn breath, Rimi stepped out from the alley. She looked right, then left, and realized with a start that Tomoe was right over there, looking around until their eyes met. They waved and walked closer. No hiding anymore.

“Rimi! G-good afternoon!”

“Hi Tomoe! Good afternoon.”

Immediately after their nervous greetings, their eyes panned down others’ outfits. Tomoe’s breath caught when she saw Rimi’s midriff somewhat exposed. And where in the world did she get pants that flashy?

Rimi, for her part, failed once more in stifling a giggle.

“Is that a flamingo?”  
“Where in the world did you get those pants?”

They blurted their questions out at the same time.

They made eye contact.

Then they burst out laughing.

“Hahahoh my god. Rimi, you look like you’re trying to join Afterglow with that outfit.”

“L-look who’s talkin’! I’ve never seen a shirt like that in my life... Is that a flamingo made of candy?”

“Ran found it at Hot Topic and convinced me to wear it. She said you’d love it.”

“It’s unusual, but honestly... it’s kinda cool.”

“Really? I mean, you look great too! I was just surprised because those pants look like they’re out of the 90s or something like that.”

“They might just be! I went shopping with Kasumi-chan, and um—well, it’s a long story.”

When their mirth finally spluttered out, they both stood up straight and let out a breath at the same time.

“Should we get going then? There’s this new cake place I wanna check out downtown that I think is your thing.”

“No way! I was gonna suggest we get ramen downtown too, but that might be a lot for one date.”

Tomoe grinned. “I’ve got a separate stomach for ramen.”

“And I’ve got a separate stomach for dessert,” Rimi countered with a giggle.

“Hah. Perfect!”


End file.
